A Gentle Approach to Breast Biopsy

Finding a suspicious mass in her breast can be one of the most anxiety-producing moments in a woman's life. After a routine mammogram, Lorraine (Lorri) Stonbraker was told she had a lesion in her right breast.

Barbara S. Schwartzberg, MD, was one of the first surgeons to use USSC's exciting new technology for minimally invasive breast biopsy. She discusses the results of a recent procedure at Columbia-Rose Medical Center in Denver with USSC representative Jim Schoenberger.

Lorri, who was a director with the Denver Parks and Recreation department until her recent retirement and is now a part-time therapeutic aerobics instructor, believes in taking a proactive approach to her own health care. After deciding to seek a second opinion on her surgical options, Lorri visited Barbara S. Schwartzberg, MD, and became the first patient in Denver to take advantage of USSC's new ABBI system for breast biopsy.

Lorri underwent the ABBI biopsy procedure on a Wednesday, got up and walked around after the surgery, and was informed shortly after that the lesion was benign. In less than a week, she was back teaching aerobics without missing a beat.
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Over 800,000 breast biopsies are performed each year, and the number is growing. The ABBI system and other new technologies from USSC are designed to improve the accuracy and lower the cost of breast cancer diagnosis.




The ABBI procedure utilizes a minimally invasive incision that can be smaller than the diameter of the patient's finger and is performed under local anesthesia.

General anesthesia and surgery within an operating room are eliminated. The woman walks into the procedure room and is usually ready to leave, with the biopsy completed, in less than an hour.

Pathologists report that the ABBI system helps them to perform a more precise and accurate diagnosis of the lesion because the biopsy specimen is intact and not removed in small fragments.

The ABBI system offers women an opportunity for enhanced health care while providing an optimal fit with managed care by significantly reducing the cost of breast biopsy.

Lorri Stonbraker Lorraine Stonbraker taught an aerobics class less than a week after having a breast biopsy with the ABBI system.


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